MILDEW

mil'-du (yeraqon; Septuagint usually ikteros, literally, "jaundice"): In the 5 passages where it occurs it is associated with shiddaphon, "blasting" (Deuteronomy 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 6:28; Amos 4:9; Haggai 2:17). In Jeremiah 30:6, the same word is translated "paleness," the yellow color of one with abdominal disease. The root-meaning is "greenish yellow"; compare the Arabic yarqan, meaning both "jaundice" and "blight." Mildrew or "rust" in grain is due to a special fungus, Puccinia graminis, whose life is divided between the barberry and cereals. Many other varieties of fungi which flourish upon other plants are also designated "mildew."

See BLASTING .

E. W. G. Masterman

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.